Discipline: Humanities Degree Credit  [X]
Non Credit  [ ]
Nondegree Credit  [ ]
Comm Service  [ ]
 

Riverside Community College District
Integrated Course Outline of Record

Humanities 4H


COURSE DESCRIPTION
4H Honors Arts & Ideas: Ancient-Medieval Units: 3.00
 
Prerequisite(s): None.

Advisory: Qualification for ENG-1A.
Limitation on Enrollment: Enrollment in Honors Program.
An interdisciplinary study of the cultural movements in art, architecture, literature, music, philosophy, and religion of Western Civilization. The cultural achievements of the ancient world and the middle ages are studied to develop an understanding of their philosophical ideas, values, cultural meaning, artistic form, and contributions to modern thought. This Honors course offers an enriched experience for accelerated students by means of limited class size, seminar format, discussions and projects generated and led by students, a focus on primary texts in translation, and the applications of higher-level thinking and writing skills—analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. Students may not receive credit for both HUM-4 and HUM-4H. 54 hours lecture.
 
SHORT DESCRIPTION FOR CLASS SCHEDULE
Offers students in the Honors Program an enriched interdisciplinary study of the origins of movements in art, literature, music, philosophy, and religion in Western civilization from ancient times to the late medieval period.
 
ADVISORY ENTRY SKILLS
Before entering the course, students will be able to:
  1. Critically discuss and analyze primary and secondary texts, recognizing key ideas and responding in both oral and written form;

  2. Analyze, synthesize, and evaluate concepts studied in primary and secondary texts using intermediate to advanced critical thinking skills;

  3. Compose developed, unified, stylistically competent writing assignments and adjust writing to the target audience with intermediate to advanced skill.
STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES
 Upon successful completion of the course, students should be able to:

Define and interpret key terms of artistic and intellectual movements from a culture-based perspective, providing a basis for further evaluation of these movements

Identify and appraise the various elements and movements in art, music, literature, and popular culture in each period being studied; compare trends and characteristics of two or more movements/periods; and critically assess how these movements relate to one another

Critically discuss, compare, and interpret primary texts and examples of art and cultural artifacts from the time period or culture which produced them

Analyze and evaluate recurring human problems across geographical and temporal boundaries and the peculiar problems unique to particular cultures and periods

Analyze and evaluate how the Western philosophical and cultural heritage acts as a continuing influence on the arts and ideas of the present

Demonstrate, apply and synthesize understanding of fundamental problems in Western thought through analytical and critical discussion of relevant arts and ideas

Demonstrate, apply and synthesize understanding of fundamental problems in Western thought through the writing of original analytical and evaluative essays of four to six pages (a minimum of 5000 words over the course of the semester)

Demonstrate the ability to think creatively, independently, and critically about the Greco-Roman and Judeo-Christian roots of the Western cultural tradition
 
COURSE CONTENT
  TOPICS
 

Coverage of topics by instructor may be thematic, text-, or genre-based, within a chronological context.  Instructors should cover all the cultures and time periods listed in italics; selection of sub-topics, primary readings, and historical figures are provided as examples of those which might be chosen by individual instructors.

  1. Stone Age, Mesopotamian and Egyptian cultures Art, architecture, literature, religion
  2. Minoan and Mycenaean cultures
  3. Archaic, Classical, and Hellenistic GreeceHistorical, social and cultural contexts, including the Persian and Pelopponesian Wars, the Age of Pericles, Athens vs. Sparta, Alexander the Great Literature:  Oral epic, lyric and dramatic poetry; tragedy and comedy; oratory Art and architecture, including pottery, statuary, temple and column styles Music and musical theory History, science and philosophy: logic and ethicsRepresentative figures:  Pre-Socratics, Pythagoras, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Aristophanes, Menander, Herodotus, Thucydides, Pericles, Lysippus, Philip of Macedon, Alexander the Great, Demosthenes, Homer, Sappho
  4. Republican and Imperial RomeHistorical, social and cultural contexts: pre-Republican, Republican, Imperial periods; late Imperial period, Eastern vs. Western Roman Empires after Constantine Latin literature: written epic, lyric poetry and drama; prose historiesLate Roman philosophical-religious developments:  Mithraism, mystery cults, stoicism, Epicureanism, skepticism, cynicismRepresentative figures:  Julius Caesar, Caesar Augustus, Roman Senate, Hadrian, Nero, Marcus Aurelius, Constantine, Epicurus, Lucretius, Cicero, Catullus, Virgil, Ovid, Cicero, Horace, Livy, Tacitus Roman art and architecture: Republican, Imperial, and late Imperial styles Judaism: major tenets and influence on ChristianityOrigins of Christianity and major tenets of Christian thought; early church fathers; Rome and Christianity; Edict of Milan Early Christian culture: art, architecture, literature, philosophy Representative figures:  Paul, Jerome, Augustine, Plotinus, Boethius
  5. Byzantine culture
  6. Islam major tenets and Islamic art & culture
  7. Medieval Period Early medieval Christian culture: art, architecture, literature, philosophy Representative figures:  Gregory the Great, St. BenedictThe Carolingian Renaissance:  Charlemagne, Alcuin, Einhard, Palace Chapel at AachenMedieval historical, social and cultural contexts: feudalism, conflict between church and secular power; birth of universities; hierarchy of being; growth of trade, cities and towns Romanesque and Gothic art and architectureMedieval literary genres:  oral epic, fabliau, courtly love lyric, romance, allegory, miracle and morality plays, medieval tales, historiesMedieval musical genres: Gregorian chant, early polyphony, ars nova, motet Medieval philosophy:  scholasticism, nominalism vs. realismRepresentative figures:  Maimonides, Abelard, Thomas Aquinas, Abbot Suger (St. Denis), Francis of Assisi, Hildegard of Bingen, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Marie de France, Henry II, William the Conqueror, Chretien de Troyes, Dante, Boccaccio, Chaucer, Petrarch
  8. Late medieval cultural developmentsHonors courses include a focus on primary or original texts in translation from the each of the major literary and philosophical traditions from the ancient world through the late middle ages, as well as active student involvement in a seminar format with student-led and student-generated discussions presentations, and projects.  
 
METHODS OF INSTRUCTION
 Methods of instruction used to achieve student learning outcomes may include, but are not limited to:

  • Presentation of lectures and demonstrations outlining key istorical and cultural movements, with examples from primary texts, as well as arts and ideas of a given period/movement, in order for students to understand the development of civilization and culture from the prehistoric period to the late medieval period
  • Class discussions about cultural issues and differing critical interpretations of a given period/movement
  • Guest writers/lecturers invited to class to discuss topics related to arts and culture during these time periods
  • Field trips to selected museums or cultural exhibits which promote and enhance understanding of the time periods being studied
  • Showing films, videos, PowerPoint presentations, distributing handouts, and/or using electronic or computer-based media in order to reinforce understanding of concepts related to the various social, cultural, artistic developments and changes in Western civilization
  • Cooperative/collaborative learning tasks and activities designed to assist students in applying concepts in the humanities and synthesizing ideas about art and culture
  • Individual conferences in order to evaluate and advise students on written work or course content
  • Computer-assisted and/or web-enhanced instruction which reinforces the course content.
 
METHODS OF EVALUATION
 Students will be evaluated for progress in and/or mastery of learning outcomes by methods of evaluation which may include, but are not limited to:

  • The writing of a minimum of 5000 words (approximately 20 pages) of formal interpretive/analytical prose; additional informal written assignments designed to assess “on the spot” understanding of course concepts.
  • Individual and group assignments designed to demonstrate successful understanding and application of basic concepts and definitions of periods, styles, and movements in arts and ideas.
  • Questions on topics and content designed to evaluate students’ understanding of the key approaches to understanding the growth of civilization and Western cultural thought.
  • Quizzes/examinations designed to assess students’ ability to recall, critically analyze and apply key concepts and course content.
  • Participation and regular attendance as required by instructor to ensure progress in mastering the course content and participation in collaborative learning projects.
  • Final essay designed to assess students’ mastery of the essential concepts explored in the course.
ASSIGNMENTS

Required Reading Assignments


Required Writing Assignments


Other Outside-of-Class Assignments
 
COURSE MATERIALS
 All materials used in this course will be periodically reviewed to ensure that they are appropriate for college level instruction. Possible texts include:

  • Benton, Janetta and Robert DiYanni. Arts and Culture: An Introduction to Humanities.Vol I. 2 ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2005.
  • Cunningham, Lawrence and John Reich. Culture and Values: A Survey of the Western Humanities. Vol. 1. 6 ed. NY: Harcourt, 2005.
  • Matthews, Roy T. and F. DeWitt Platt. Western Humanities, Vol I.. 5 ed. any: McGraw-Hill, 2003.
  • Witt, Mary Ann Frese. The Humanities: Cultural Roots and Continuities. 7 ed. Boston: Houghton-Mifflin, 2004.
  • Honors sections will focus on primary sources in translation. Possible texts include:

    Primary texts:

    1. Epic of Gilgamesh
    2. Homer – Iliad and Odyssey
    3. Sappho - Poetry
    4. Aeschylus - The Oresteia
    5. Sophocles - Oedipus Rex, Antigone
    6. Euripides - Medea, the Trojan Women
    7. Aristophanes – Lysistrata, The Birds
    8. Herodotus - Persian Wars
    9. Thucydides – Peloponnesian Wars
    10. Plato – Apology, Phaedo, Crito, Republic
    11. Aristotle – Poetics, Ethics, Politics
    12. Catullus – Poetry
    13. Virgil – Aeneid
    14. Ovid – Metamorphoses
    15. Plautus or Terence – plays
    16. Tacitus – Germania
    17. Livy – History of Rome from its Foundation
    18. Cicero – On the Laws; Letters
    19. Horace – Odes
    20. Lucretius – On the Nature of Things
    21. Juvenal - Satires
    22. Marcus Aurelius – Meditations
    23. The Bible
    24. Augustine – City of God, Confessions
    25. Plutarch - Lives
    26. Al-Quran
    27. Oral epics: Song of Roland, El Cid, Beowulf
    28. Chretien de Troyes – Lancelot
    29. Marie de France – Lays
    30. Chaucer – Canterbury Tales
    31. Dante – Divine Comedy
    32. Boccaccio – Decameron
    33. Villon – Testament
    34. More - Utopia


    Additional materials may include professional, instructor- or student-prepared audio/visual materials, computer media/software, and instructor-prepared handouts.
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